1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to special purpose projectiles and more specifically to novel apparatus and methods for sequential integration of propellant forces onto highly pliant projectiles thus facilitating their safe and efficient discharge from firearms and other launching platforms. By controlling frictional energy losses, the pliant projectiles are prevented from lodging or decelerating in the barrel of the weapon.
The highly specialized projectiles incorporating innovations described in the present invention is directed towards law enforcement and military users and satisfies a pervasive and growing requirement for effective less lethal rounds and for breaching rounds in a variety of tactical law enforcement, military missions and weapon systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent times have seen a rapid increase in the level of interest throughout the law enforcement and military communities in what has been alternatively referred to as nonlethal, less than lethal and currently, less lethal devices. Simultaneously, better methods of gaining entry to secured doors, gates and windows and the like, by various types of breaching rounds are also being sought.
Due to this increased awareness and gradual growth in the actual requirement, a proliferation of less lethal and breaching rounds, particularly for shotguns (which for many security personnel are the weapons of choice) have been developed and offered into these specialty markets. Few if any, less lethal or breaching cartridges for handguns or rifles have been offered that meet current requirements.
Some early efforts in less lethal development involved single wooden batons and rubber balls approximating the size of the shotgun bore were and are still offered in various materials in durometer values mostly in the eighty to ninety Shore xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d range. This degree of xe2x80x9chardnessxe2x80x9d is three to four times that of the human target body. This hardness value was required to propel the projectile safely from the firearm. Small rubber pellets approximating the size of 00 buckshot, also in the higher durometer range of sixty to ninety Shore xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d, were introduced as crowd control devices with seven to ten pellets per twelve gauge round.
Currently, there is wide interest and guarded usage of the xe2x80x9cshot bagxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cbean bagxe2x80x9d concept which utilizes conventional small lead shotgun pellets or other dense spherical media contained in a square flexible flat bag which is approximately 1.5 inches on a side and with a weight of approximately 650 grains. When inserted into a conventional shotgun shell casing and fired at 300 ft. per second, the projectile produces over 120 ft/lbs of kinetic energy at impact.
There exists, particularly in law enforcement, universal discontent with the shot bag or bean bag concept and a virtual rejection of the rubber buckshot, wooden baton and rubber ball projectiles. The limited cross-sectional area that rubber buckshot presents to the target body surface in combination with their high Durometer values requires minimum weight and low muzzle velocities to prevent or minimize surface penetration. This results in ineffectual target body impact and, if the intended target surface is covered with heavy clothing, the round is virtually useless.
The rubber balls and wooden batons, if they are provided with sufficient momentum to make them effective, concentrate so much energy unto a relatively small area, that is, the kinetic energy density levels are so high, that users are routinely instructed by manufacturers"" product literature to fire onto a surface in front of the target and ricochet the projectiles onto the target body. This technique is highly unpredictable, affects accuracy in already tense situations and is contradictory at best.
Bean bags or shot bags as they are called, whose use has slowly expanded based almost solely on the lack of viable alternatives, have very serious and widely recognized shortcomings. In the highly specialized world of law enforcement, wherein predictable product performance can make the difference between life and death, the difficulties of the shot bag round will eventually contribute to its ultimate demise, particularly with the introduction of any viable alternatives.
In a shot bag, the bag containing the lead (or other metal) shot is stowed in a rolled configuration in the shell casing. Despite continued efforts at product improvement, upon exiting the firearm, deployment of the shot bag into a flat or quasi parabolic configuration from its original rolled stowed configuration is highly unpredictable and rarely occurs, at least not within the first ten to fifteen feet of travel. Often the bag will not unroll until after twenty to twenty five feet of travel.
If the shot bag strikes any human target while still in a rolled configuration, the results can, depending on the location of the strike, often be life threatening, if not lethal. Most altercations in which a less lethal round may be appropriately utilized occur at very short ranges. In fact, standard operation procedures often preclude the use of any munitions, lethal or less lethal, at any range over twenty five to thirty feet.
By definition, any perpetrator that is at least twenty five feet away is not deemed an immediate threat. Less lethal discharges ideally should occur at very close ranges from five to fifteen feet. The shot bag, in order to overcome these apparent contradictions, is offered in a variety of kinetic energy levels which can only exacerbate the confusion already existing at a crime scene.
Equally disconcerting is the inherent lack of accuracy provided by the shot bag round. Upon exiting the muzzle, the bag eventually deploys into what is ideally a kind of parabolic symmetrical xe2x80x9cblobxe2x80x9d which sometimes can proceed to the target with limited accuracy. More likely, the bag deploys into an asymmetrical shape or is propelled sideways and xe2x80x9ckitesxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cplanesxe2x80x9d significantly off the intended target line, often times completely missing the target. Additionally, the shot bag can burst from the significant internal hydrostatic pressures generated at the target impact and, because physical orientation of the bag cannot be controlled or predicted, severe laceration type injuries can occur.
Continued effort to improve the performance of the shot bag have produced some improvements in accuracy. By trailing a long kite-like tail behind the standard shot bag, or by containing the lead pellets in the front portion of a sock-like container and trailing the remaining fabric xe2x80x9ctailxe2x80x9d as a stabilizer, the performance of a basically flawed product has somewhat improved.
However, close range lethality of these products due to their considerable projectile weight cannot be overcome. In addition, potential users cite a valid concern over use in that rioters and others can collect the spent projectiles and, by using the tail as a sling, effectively xe2x80x9creturn firexe2x80x9d, endangering the safety of those originally deploying the projectiles.
In the past, attempts to reconcile the requirements for single projectile, less lethal ammunition with specifications regarding limits on levels of kinetic energy and kinetic energy densities delivered to a target body surface from virtually point blank to maximum effective range, required a variety of different rounds, none of which provided adequate target stopping power within acceptable kinetic energy density limits.
In the past, this requirement defined a technical contradiction in that enough energy must be imparted into a pliant projectile by virtue of its mass and velocity (momentum) so that adequate kinetic energy is delivered onto the target body surface at the moment of impact. The upper limit of this kinetic energy on a human target has been defined as approximately sixty five foot pounds. It has further been determined that to minimize or effectively eliminate projectile penetration of the target body upon impact, the kinetic energy density levels should not exceed approximately fifty to sixty foot pounds per square inch, which would require a total projectile surface contact area of approximately 1.2 square inches.
The aforementioned contradiction exists in that, until now, pliant projectiles with sufficiently low Durometer levels to accomplish this amount of physical distortion upon impact, could not and had not been safely and efficiently discharged from firearms.
Paralleling the growing interest in recent past for less lethal ammunition, is a similar worldwide requirement throughout law enforcement and military users for high energy, frangible shot gun rounds for breaching secured entry door locks, bolts and hinges while minimizing collateral damage. In addition, such a projectile could satisfy the as yet unspecified requirement for deflating steel belted vehicle tires or penetrating engine compartments or radiators while minimizing or eliminating the collateral damage and risk to other vehicles. This would provide a means to terminate vehicle pursuits, a pressing new challenge currently escalating throughout the United States.
Early on, shot gun shells loaded with buckshot or lead slugs were successfully utilized for breaching. However excessive collateral damage to property and personnel resulted as the heavy, non-frangible lead projectiles often penetrated adjacent walls and structures. In addition, the use of lead in any projectiles is being discouraged and even prohibited by governmental agencies because of environmental concerns.
Recently, high density, semi-rigid projectiles comprising industrial wax with nontoxic metal powders such as zinc have been suggested. Combinations of tungsten powders and various rigid polymers such as nylon and polyesters have also been introduced with limited success. The reduced mechanical integrity of the wax projectiles severely limited their exit velocities. The tungsten-polymer matrix combinations showed some promise but costs appear to be prohibitive, especially if the technology were to be applied to large shotgun projectiles. The high velocities required for optimum frangibility, resulted in collateral damage dangers to the shooter and to others.
In accordance with the present invention, a system for discharging highly pliant projectiles from weapons such as firearms or other launching devices comprises a shell casing or firing chamber with a charge of powder that, upon ignition, deploys a piston that constrains the expanding gases. The piston has a central post that is adapted to fit into a force transfer member. A pliant projectile has an interior cylindrical void into which a transfer member is inserted.
After ignition of the powder charge, the piston transfers the force of the expanding gases to a more forward location on the projectile via the transfer member. A space is provided between the base of the projectile and the piston to permit the transfer member to sufficiently elongate the projectile, thus reducing its diameter to clear the weapon. The piston then contacts the rear surface of the projectile, overcoming the remaining inertia in that section and the projectile, transfer member and piston are all accelerated from the cartridge or the firing chamber at the same rate and subsequently exit the barrel or the launch tube of the weapon.
In the less lethal round, the highly pliant projectiles have a Shore xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d Durometer value of approximately 20 to 40, which is comparable value for a human target body. In selective applications where non-lethality is not a concern, the innovations of the present invention can be used to propel projectiles having higher Durometer Shore xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d values ranging from 50 to 90 at muzzle velocities greater than 1500 feet per second and for substantially longer ranges.
The projectile may be filled with a powder or small particles of a dense material such as metal or other heavy material for increased mass without compromising pliancy. To improve accuracy and consistency, a stabilizing collar is incorporated on the rear of the projectile. The lightweight but rigid transfer member remains with the pliant projectile during flight to provide additional rigidity and stability and, upon impact with the target body, provides a stable axis on which the highly pliant projectiles collapse symmetrically onto the target body, often increasing to twice their original diameter.
In an extended range device, the piston may be an integral part of the transfer member or comprise individual components which are press fitted together to form a piston/transfer member assembly. The extended range version may or may not utilize a separate stabilizing collar. In the absence of a separate stabilizing collar, the piston is designed to act as a stabilizing device during flight.
The concept of having the inside diameter of the void in the projectile sufficiently large to permit the transfer member to slide forward at ignition, thus facilitating the elongation of the projectile, but having a sufficiently small diameter with respect to the transfer member so as to prevent the induced aerodynamic drag on the piston or stabilizing collar from pulling it from the void during flight, is unique. What retains the transfer member in the void is a novel interaction between the pliant projectile and the transfer member. There is an initial level of sliding friction which is then enhanced by the reduction of the projectile diameter resulting from the elongation of the projectile at ignition, which tends to clamp the projectile tighter about the transfer member.
During flight, after the acceleration phase, when the piston or the stabilization collar is tending to pull the transfer member from the void, a low pressure area is created inside the void by the slight rearward movement of the transfer member with respect to the projectile void, causing the projectile to exert an additional clamping effect on the transfer member. These clamping effects are cumulative and together offer sufficient resistance to the forces tending to withdraw the transfer member from the void, even at the higher muzzle velocities required in the extended range round, which may exceed 700 feet per second.
Upon impact with the target, these clamping effects enumerated above are instantaneously reversed and allow the pliant projectile, having expanded from the force of impact, to readily slide forward on the transfer member and mushroom on the target surface to a multiple of its original diameter.
Smokeless gunpowder at ignition requires a tightly confined volume to provide for rapid and complete combustion. In conventional cartridges this initial volumetric restriction is provided for by the mass and inertia of the projectile. In a less lethal round, the lighter weight of the projectile does not provide sufficient resistance for the powder to ignite properly and combust rapidly.
Accordingly, in the present invention, methods and apparatus are disclosed to provide this initial resistance artificially in either of two ways. First, in a less expensive embodiment, the small amount of powder contained in a standard handgun cartridge, such as a .32 caliber with a primer installed, is sufficient. By severely crimping a diaphragm over the powder, it is momentarily contained at ignition. This handgun cartridge is inserted where the primer is normally placed in a shotgun shell.
The second, albeit more expensive, alternative is to provide a cylindrical metal jacket with perforations in the side wall for a small caliber shell. A small caliber handgun shell, for example a .25 caliber, is press fit into the jacket and the entire assembly inserted the base of the shotgun shell casing. When fired, the powder combusts in the enclosed space, and, as the pressure rises, the combustion rate increases. When the pressure builds up sufficiently, the small caliber shell wall bursts in the vicinity of the perforations in the wall of the jacket and the expanding gases fill the shotgun shell area.
The breaching projectile, while also pliant, differs from the less lethal projectile in that elastomeric matrix, which may be a polymer, is heavily saturated with a greater weight of larger, high density particles such as copper, brass, iron or lead, for example. These particles are loosely held by the elastomer matrix so as to maintain just enough stability and rigidity to exit the weapon and maintain stability during flight.
Upon striking any solid object the heavy pliant projectile delivers its considerable kinetic energy momentum over a larger target surface, efficiently removing door bolts, locks and hinges from their supporting structure. The loosely held metal particles are readily separated from their elastomeric matrix and any kinetic energy the tiny particles may have remaining is quickly dissipated.
Because of the heavy weight of the projectile, a conventional powder and primer is used in the breaching round. In the breaching round the transfer member also remains with the projectile during flight to provide rigidity and stability and, upon impact, provides an axis around which the heavy but pliant projectile can, during entry, symmetrically expand to over twice its original diameter.
The combined action and interaction of these components results, for the first time, in the successful discharge from firearms, particularly shot guns and handguns, of highly pliant, less lethal and breaching projectiles. Similar principles may be applied to the discharge of highly pliant projectiles from rifles, mortar and grenade launchers and other ordnance launching devices currently in law enforcement and military inventories.
Accordingly, beside the objects, advantages and disadvantages of the less lethal and breaching rounds described above, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
a. To provide a less lethal round which can deliver a highly pliant projectile having a Durometer Shore xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d value ranging from 20 to 40 onto a target body surface with adequate force to cause significant blunt force trauma. However, due to the significant radial displacement of such a pliant projectile upon impact, such force is distributed over a sufficiently large surface area so as to preclude significant, if any, target body penetration by the pliant projectile.
b. Provide a less lethal projectile with a novel self-compensating feature that may be discharged at virtually point blank range without exceeding acceptable kinetic energy density levels on the surface of the target body. At very close range, the higher muzzle velocity causes the projectile to impact with a greater force, causing the highly pliant projectile to expand slightly more at impact than it would at a longer range, thereby automatically compensating for the kinetic energy density levels delivered to the target body surface.
c. Provide a very accurate pliant less lethal cartridge that may be directed at a very specific small area on a target body with a high degree of assurance that the projectile will strike that area. It is an object of this invention that a pliant projectile discharged from a 12-gauge shotgun will repeatedly strike within a two and a half-inch circle at up to forty feet range.
d. Provide an extended range, less lethal cartridge for shotguns which can accurately engage suspects fleeing the scene of a crime or control or dissuade rioters at distances of up to 150 feet.
e. Provide a less lethal round which, by varying the density and size of the projectile, can meet a wide range of custom kinetic energy requirements, ranging from thirty to in excess of three hundred foot pounds.
f. Provide a multiplicity of less lethal cartridges for use by law enforcement and the military which, by varying the Durometer values of the projectile from 10-80 on the Shore xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d scale, will perform in a variety of tactical situations calling for from point blank range to several hundred feet with muzzle velocities varying from 300 feet per second to over 1,500 feet per-second.
g. Provide a frangible round that can deliver a semi-pliant, dense metal filled frangible projectile to a highly resistant mechanism such as a door lock, bolt or hinge with sufficient force as to disable or remove the mechanism from its supporting structure. However, in the process of directing its considerable kinetic energy onto a concentrated area of the mechanism, the pliant matrix completely disintegrates, releasing the minute metal particles that readily lose their remaining kinetic energy, thus reducing or completely eliminating collateral damage to adjacent walls and structures or personnel.
h. To provide a frangible round described in g., above, that can readily penetrate but not exit from automobile engine or radiator compartments and steel belted vehicle tires. During a vehicle pursuit, if a projectile should be fired and completely miss the intended target, in striking the roadway or other surface, even at a low angle of incidence, the projectile will completely disintegrate, releasing its small metal particles that will cause little, if any, damage or injury to other vehicles, their occupants, pedestrians or residents along the roadway. Thus, for the first time, law enforcement officers will have a tool with which to quickly terminate the extended dangerous vehicle pursuits which are becoming increasingly more commonplace.
i. Provide a means to launch highly pliant less lethal projectiles from a variety of ordnance launching tubes such as 40 and 37 mm. grenade launchers for delivery of various flash, stun, acoustical or malodorant devices now in development.
These objects and advantages and others will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings, and are made possible for the first time by the disclosed techniques to safely, reliably and accurately discharge pliant projectiles from firearms and other launching devices described in the present invention.
The novel features which are characteristic of the invention, both as to structure and method of operation thereof, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will be understood from the following description, considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only, and they are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.